Re: Advice for my mother.

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Posted by Ally on March 07, 19106 at 12:57:56:

In Reply to: Advice for my mother. posted by talyia on February 20, 19106 at 15:27:01:

Hi Talyia - this is never an easy thing to face. And everybody has a different experience to offer, nothing comes standard in this little mad hatter's tea party I'm afraid.

Please look into phantom pain. This is very real and very debilitating. There are ways of minimising, and possibly preventing it altogether. Speak with your anesthetist and your surgeon. Get pain free before the op, ask for an epidural during the op, and remain pain free for as long as possible after the op. Phantom pain is neuropathic, and occurs when the brain maps pain pathways to the amputated limb, and can land up hijacking the leg forever. It's a problem. And there are NO hard and fast drugs that are proven to cure and/or alleviate this.

Before amputation, be sure that your surgeon and your prosthetist are talking to eachother, and that they are on the same page BEFORE THE AMPUTATION. This may seem like something so damn obvious, but it's not. A surgeon will not necessarily present a prosthetist with a residual limb that is ideal for a false leg.

Finally, losing a limb is not the end of the world. And it sounds like your mom has been through the mill (11 operations) to try and get some sort of normal mobility back.

I don't know what else to say really. I am feeling a bit weepy today, not good, so I am probably the last person in the world that you need to hear from at this point in time.

I wish you all the best. Truely. You will get through this. It is never as dark as it seems. It is do-able. Truely.

Feel free to mail me privately anytime.

Blessings,
Ally
RAK - South Africa

: Hello out there. My mother (51 year old, 6th grade teacher) is currently facing the possibility of transfemoral amputatuin after 11 surgeties to try and save her leg. She has asked me to gather her some information about the process. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice for her. Right now she's very sad about the fact that her life will never be the same again, and I really don't know what to tell her because I know that this is true. Please help.

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: Hi Talyia - this is never an easy thing to face. And everybody has a different experience to offer, nothing comes standard in this little mad hatter's tea party I'm afraid. : Please look into phantom pain. This is very real and very debilitating. There are ways of minimising, and possibly preventing it altogether. Speak with your anesthetist and your surgeon. Get pain free before the op, ask for an epidural during the op, and remain pain free for as long as possible after the op. Phantom pain is neuropathic, and occurs when the brain maps pain pathways to the amputated limb, and can land up hijacking the leg forever. It's a problem. And there are NO hard and fast drugs that are proven to cure and/or alleviate this. : Before amputation, be sure that your surgeon and your prosthetist are talking to eachother, and that they are on the same page BEFORE THE AMPUTATION. This may seem like something so damn obvious, but it's not. A surgeon will not necessarily present a prosthetist with a residual limb that is ideal for a false leg. : Finally, losing a limb is not the end of the world. And it sounds like your mom has been through the mill (11 operations) to try and get some sort of normal mobility back. : I don't know what else to say really. I am feeling a bit weepy today, not good, so I am probably the last person in the world that you need to hear from at this point in time. : I wish you all the best. Truely. You will get through this. It is never as dark as it seems. It is do-able. Truely. : Feel free to mail me privately anytime. : Blessings, : Ally : RAK - South Africa : : Hello out there. My mother (51 year old, 6th grade teacher) is currently facing the possibility of transfemoral amputatuin after 11 surgeties to try and save her leg. She has asked me to gather her some information about the process. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice for her. Right now she's very sad about the fact that her life will never be the same again, and I really don't know what to tell her because I know that this is true. Please help.

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